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Milestone Chart Template

Track your project progress both visually on a timeline and on a static chart.

About the Milestone Chart Template

What is a milestone chart?

Milestone charts are used to track the progress of a project by visualizing its milestones. Milestones are important events that are planned in a project's timeline. Each milestone is represented by a vertical line on the chart, with a description of the milestone on the left side of the line. The chart also has a horizontal timescale that shows the entire duration of the project.

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When to use a milestone chart

A milestone chart is a useful tool to have when your team is working on a big project that has various tasks that need to be completed by certain deadlines. It can be helpful to share the chart with your managers or clients so they can see how you're progressing and whether or not you're likely to hit the overall deadline.

Benefits of using a milestone chart

If your team does not track milestones, you will not be able to tell if you are making progress towards your goal. Tracking milestones for your project will help you stay on schedule and achieve your goals.

How to create a milestone chart

If you are planning a project, you can create a simple and effective milestone chart using our template.

Step 1: What are the major milestones for the project?

It can be difficult for project managers and stakeholders to tell milestones apart from tasks. Milestones are different because they show that a project has reached a new stage.

To determine a milestone from task, you might consider asking the following questions:

  1. Does this task impact our deadline?
  2. Is this a task or a deliverable?
  3. Will this point in the project signify significant forward progress?
  4. Does this task need to be reviewed by stakeholders?
  5. If this task doesn’t get done, can we still complete the project?

Step 2: Customize milestone chart according to your needs

Select this Milestone Chart template and use it to visually track the smaller steps within a large project. For each milestone, there's a template with several columns; as well as rows to track deadlines, steps, and deliverables. You can always customize the template according to your needs of particular project.

Step 3: Assign each major milestone to a separate column.

Our milestone chart template allows you to add as many columns as you need, each one representing a different milestone. Keep in mind that you need to define major milestones from minor tasks. You should only focus on the most crucial milestones when choosing how many to track for your project. The number of milestones you track will depend on the scope and size of your project.

Step 4: Define deadlines, actions, and deliverables.

The top row of a milestone chart is used to show the time frame or deadline for specific milestone.

The second row of the milestone chart is for the complex of actions that need to be proceeded in order for the milestone to be reached.

The milestone chart's third row is for specific deliverables that can be used to measure whether the milestone has been reached.

Step 5: Customize and track!

As a project progresses, you may find it necessary to tailor your milestone chart to fit the needs of the project. Keep track of the progress of each milestone, and consult with your team regularly to ensure that everyone is up to date on the latest developments.

Milestone Chart FAQ

What is the typical format of a Milestone Chart?

Use this project milestone template to keep track of project milestones, both on a visual timeline and on a static chart. See who is assigned to each task, the status of each task, and any comments that accompany those tasks. Use the status key to see which tasks have yet to be started, which are on hold, and which are in progress.

How do you use a milestone chart?

This project timeline with milestones template allows you to map out your project and each individual task across a predetermined timeline. You can show each task across a certain timeline, such as by month, quarter, or year, so you can get an accurate portrayal of the work left to be completed. This template also allows you to point out specific milestones that your team needs to hit in order to maintain the project timeline.

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